


Señales de Humo

by MissInkshaming



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Coffee, Erasmus+ AU, M/M, Mutual Attraction, Smoking, Staring in a unmistakably gay way, yes im making it a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:40:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissInkshaming/pseuds/MissInkshaming
Summary: Antonio should just mind his business, but something about this boy’s absolute lack of interest in everything is enticing in every way it shouldn’t be.
Relationships: South Italy & Spain (Hetalia), South Italy/Spain (Hetalia)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 21





	Señales de Humo

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not Italian, so the information I add comes from my experiences and may not be accurate. Feel free to correct me!  
> All the conversations in the fic happen in Italian (and since Antonio isn't yet fluent, his sentences will be simple and will contain intentional errors. Keep in mind that this all happens in Italy!  
> (For my non-European folk, Erasmus is the main EU's study abroad program for college students.)  
> Enjoy!

Antonio has been in the library for two hours at this point and almost hasn’t gotten anything done. He wants to, mostly because he desperately needs to get better with Italian if he wants to stand a chance at passing any exam this year, but he can’t bring himself to do it.

He’s never been particularly good at studying for long periods and although he had improved a lot these past years, he's regressed after coming to Bologna. He’s back to reading the same paragraph three times before his mind even begins to decipher what he’s looking at. It’s exceptionally challenging to focus when he doesn’t even understand all the words, but there aren’t that many, and guessing them by context is easy enough, thank God.

“At least it’s not English” he finds himself thinking, and he’s relieved for a few seconds until he remembers he actually does have to pass English to get his degree. 

Then, someone pulls a chair and scrapes the floor with it, taking him out of his trance. He instantly looks up and finds the culprit cringing at the squeak. The boy mutters a quick apology, sits down, and gets only a pencil case out of his tote bag, which Antonio is almost certain constitutes most of its content. Soon after he’s up again looking at the shelves nonchalantly, tilting his head ever so often to read the titles of the books. 

Antonio finds him mildly annoying but is secretly thankful he finally has an excuse to not be able to concentrate. It makes him feel slightly better too because at least he’s putting some effort into trying to get stuff done.

When the boy returns to the table and starts playing with a pen, Antonio steals a few glances at him hoping he catches on and starts doing something productive out of shame at least, but he seems completely unbothered. At some point, he starts texting, and that’s when glancing turns into openly staring. Antonio should just mind his business, but something about this boy’s absolute lack of interest in everything is enticing in every way it shouldn’t be.

All at once, he’s looking back at him, and even though it lasts mere seconds, the eye contact sets Antonio’s pulse racing. He pretends he’s submerged in the notes he’s been ignoring for the past twenty minutes, getting much too tense trying to look convincing. He figures he looks pretty damn stupid, but the boy’s chuckle confirms it and suddenly his company is much more of a nuisance than anything else, so he decides it’s time for a study break.

Twenty minutes later, as he’s walking back to the library, he recognizes the boy from before right outside the entrance smoking a cigarette. The boy’s eyes are stuck on him again, and even the smoke he’s exhaling seems to be signaling him to come closer. He could just ignore it, but his curiosity gets the best of him, and it only seems like a bad idea when he’s already too close to change his mind. They’re stuck in a staring contest that feels entirely too intimate for two strangers to have, but neither speaks up or moves until Antonio looks down at the boy’s mouth while he’s taking a puff. He swallows hard and finally breaks the silence.

“Want one?”

“Okay” He really doesn’t, he quit smoking just before coming to Italy because tobacco isn’t cheap and his budget was already pretty tight, but when the boy accidentally touches him while handing the cigarette, every rational thought goes out the window. “Thanks”

“You’re Spanish?”

“Uh, yes. My name’s Antonio” 

“Lorenzo”

They’re back at staring at each other and he wants to say something eloquent but his brain is not cooperating. Lorenzo's eyes are captivating, he wonders if he thinks his are too.

“Do you want to get some coffee?” The words roll off his tongue before he has time to think of a better way to say them, less intruding perhaps. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to phase him at all. 

“Where?”

“Uh…I don’t know. I’m here less than a month”

“You were really eager to get to know me then, huh?” Lorenzo responds almost instantly, and it sounds like he’s teasing him, but there’s no trace of spite in his voice. He might just be flirting with him a little bit, and the thought excites him. “There’s a good place not too far away from here, and it’s ridiculously cheap. Sounds good?”

Antonio nods enthusiastically, his cheeks slightly flushed. They pick their stuff up from the library and while walking to the place there’s no more awkward silences. It’s a little weird, because they’re talking like they’ve known each other for some time already, but their characters work together. Lorenzo has a sharp tongue and doesn’t shy away from hyperbole, it makes every conversation entertaining, no matter how mundane. He also seems completely unaware of how funny he is. Either that, or Antonio is too attracted to him and laughs at everything he says. 

They arrive at the cafeteria, which exudes a strong and comforting smell of coffee. It’s uncommonly tiny and looks very old. They sit at one of the two tables on the terrace. 

“What do you want to...ask? To drink, I mean”

“What I want to order?”

“Yeah! ‘Order’? Am I saying that right?” Lorenzo nods, so he continues “I want to order two cappuccinos, please? Like that?” 

Lorenzo smirks again, and Antonio is starting to think maybe he’s accepted the offer to laugh at him.

“What?”

“Nothing, but there’s no point in learning the pronunciation if immediately after you order a cappuccino in the afternoon. You might as well have ‘I’m a tourist’ written with ink on your forehead.” Antonio frown deepens, so Lorenzo quickly clarifies “It’s a breakfast drink. I’m ordering you a macchiato, alright?” He gives his arm a squeeze and heads inside. Antonio doesn’t think he knows what a macchiato is, but decides to keep that to himself and just hopes it has some milk in it too. 

Lorenzo returns shorty after balancing with very little effort two cups of coffee and two little glasses of water, Antonio wonders if he’s ever been a waiter. He explains the water is supposed to cleanse your palate before the coffee, and assures it’s ‘the right way’ to drink it. Everything’s alright until Antonio asks for the sugar.

“You’re adding sugar?” He sounds even offended “Try it without first, trust me. Their coffee is really good, you’ll like it”

Antonio, not fully convinced, takes a sip while Lorenzo stares at him expectantly.

“It’s good, but a little too strong for me”

He frowns and starts moving his hands around like a maniac, raising his voice. “Too strong? That’s just the taste coffee is supposed to have, goddamn! What’s the point of drinking coffee if you’re just killing its flavor? You won’t be able to tell the nuances if you make it sweet!” 

He’s losing his mind over sugar on a coffee, and it cracks Antonio up. 

“I’m sorry!” he says laughing loudly, clearly not sorry at all. 

“Ah, you think this is funny, huh? You think gastronomic terrorism is real funny, right?” Lorenzo tries to seem genuinely angry with his tone but he’s smiling too much to be convincing.

**Author's Note:**

> Antonio going to Italy thinking he won't need to actually learn Italian beforehand is... very iconic. Heavily inspired by a lot of people from Spain who go to Italy for Erasmus with little/ no knowledge of Italian, that's very sexy of ya'll.  
> The title was inspired by a song called 'Señales de Humo' by El Kanka, which feels very spamano to me. (If you listen to it and want to know what the song says, let me know on Tumblr and I'll try to translate the lyrics to the best of my ability!)  
> El Kanka's music in general really reminds me of Antonio for some reason? He would probably vibe to it  
> It would mean the world to me if you left kudos/comments! Thank you for reading lovelies! 💖


End file.
